Bracket for mounting rollers on overhead doors



May 24, 1949- H. B. CLARK 2,471,197

BRACKET FOR MOUNTING ROLLERS 0N OVERHEAD DOORS Filed Oct. 11, 1944 IGttorneg Patented May 24, 1949 JITED STATES @t OFFICE BRACKET FORMOUNTING ROLLERS ON OVERHEAD DOORS 1 Claim. l

This invention relates particularly to brackets especially designed formounting rollers on the lowermost panel sections of doors of theso-called overhead type such as shown in my Patent No. 2,227,571. Thesedoors usually include `a plurality of panel sections hingedly connectedat their edges on horizontal axes so that the panel sections may bearranged in a common plane in a door opening for closing the door andmay pivot-u ally relatively move to permit raising of the panel sectionsand movement thereof from the vertical plane into a horizontal planeoverhead for opening the doors, the panel sections being mounted onrollers running in tracks. A chain or cable on each side of the door hasone end fixed to a stationary part of the top of the track, itsintermediate portion passing over a pulley connected to a spring, andits other end fastened to the lower end of the lowermost panel section,for counterbalancing the movement of the door.

Heretofore such rollers at the bottom of the door were mounted onbrackets permanently fastened to the lower panel section and `secured-tosuch section by bolts or screws which penetrate the panel section. Suchbrackets and their fastening to the door are not as strong as isdesirable and require considerable time to apply to a door. These rollerbrackets are subjected to severe strains while the door is in openposition overhead and when the pull rope is pulled to start the lowerpanel section downward over the curved track. Therefore, the screws orbolts are also subjected to severe strain during the operation of thedoor and tend to loosen and pull out as well as to splinter and disgurethe wood adjacent to the screws or bolts. The lower corners of the doorare more exposed to water than other parts of the door, due to splashingand dripping of rain and wash water, and the water easily enters theholes around loose bolts so as to promote decay of the door. Also thebrackets being bolted on the door sections cannot be removed orinterchanged conveniently. Furthermore, the lower corners of the doorare subjected to blows upon striking the sill or oor as the door islowered, which tends to split and deface the door.

One object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improvedbracket, especially designed for use on the lower corners of thelowermost panel section of the door` for mounting the roller and forprotecting the corners of the door.`

Another object is to provide such an improved corner bracket with novelmeans for securing it to the panel section whereby the strains incidentto operation of the door will be transmitted to the panel sectiondirectly through the bracket rather than through screws or bolts, sothat tendency to pulling of the bolts or screws out of the panel sectionand consequent splintering or crack ing of the wood of the panels shallbe reducedto a minimum.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved construction andcombination of such a bracket with the panel section whereby the bracketshall be directly interlocked with the panel section, and fasteningmembers such as screws shall be required merely to prevent displacementof the bracket from such interlocked relation to the panel section.

A further object is to provide a novel and improved combination of panelsection and bracket which shall eliminate screw or bolt heads on theoutside of the panel section and thereby insure a neat appearance on thefront of the door.

A still further object is to provide a bracket 'of this kind that isreadily mounted in position on the panel section and is adapted toreinforce the panel section at the corners.

A further object is to provide a bracket of this kind that is simple andrugged in construction and is inexpensive to manufacture.

Yet another object is to provide an improved roller carrier for thelowermost panel section' which is adapted to be interchangeable for usewith the corner bracket and to be used at either' the rightehand orleft-hand corner of the panel and is too expensive in construction andinstallay tion. Therefore, a still further object is to provide improvedmeans for anchoring the lowermost end of the counterbalancing chain orcablefto the door. v

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thedescription thereof to follow taken in connection with` the accompanyingdrawing in which- Figure l is an elevational view of a part of thelowermost panel section of an overhead door embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is an end view thereof.

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on .the plane of the line 3 3 ofFigure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken on the plane f the line 5 4 of Figure1.

Figure 5 is `a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 5--5 ofFigure 1.

In my Patent No. 2,227,571 dated January 7, 1941, I have described andshown an overhead door comprising aplurality of panel sections includingthe lowermost panel section together with the rollers and tracks and thechains for counterbalancing the door. For the purpose of illustratingthe present invention, I have shownV it in connection with an overheaddoor that includes a plurality of panel sections A, preferably formed ofwood, only the left-hand corner portion of the lowermost panel sectionbeingshown.

On each of the lower right-hand and left-hand corners of the lowermostpanel section, I provide a bracket member formed of sheet metal andindicated generally at Iii. rlhe two brackets are identical except oneis right-hand and the other is left-hand. This bracket comprises asubstantially rectangular plate il tted over the lower r corner andpositioned in contacting relationship with the rear surface of the panelsection. The plate is formed on one of its long edges with an integralflange i2 perpendicular to the plate Ii and extending forwardly of thesection and in engagement with the side edge oi the section. Anotherintegral flange i3 is formed on and perpendicular to the bottom edge ofthe plate Il and extends forwardly in abutting relationship with thelower edge of the panel section.

At spaced intervals, the material of the flange l2 is instruck to formaligned securing lugs or legs IG and the bottom flange is similarlyformed with securing lugs or legs i'l. These lugs or legs are disposedat an angle to the flanges and can be provided with curved and slantingedges terminating in pointed ends to facilitate cutting into andpenetration of the edges of the wooden panel section. Preferably theside edge of the panel section has grooves, rabbets, kerfs or slots i8to receive said lugs l5, and similar grooves may be provided for thelugs Il. The plate is mounted on the corner of the panel section byslipping it over` said corner and forcing it longitudinally andtransversely of the section so that the lugs enter the correspondinggrooves or will be driven into the edges as the case may be. Near itsupper and inner edges, the plate may be provided with an opening toreceive a screw I9 to prevent its displacement in relation to the panelsection, especially in the oblique direction that would causedisengagement of said flanges from the edges of the panel section.

Near its bottom edge, the plate is formed with two sets Ul and I5 ofout-struck ears or lugs, each set including a plurality of ears spacedapart in the direction parallel to the bottom edge of the plate and eachintegrally connected at one end to the plate and having its main portionin spaced and parallel relation to the face of the plate and extendingin a direction opposite to that of the other set.

The carrier or bracket for the roller 2li is formed of sheet metal andcomprises a tubular bearing portion 2i, a anged base portion 22 of athick- '4 ness about equal to the distance of the ears I4' and l5 fromthe face of the plate, and a web portion 23 connecting the base portionand bearing portion, all of said portions being integrally formed. Theflanged base extends laterally on both sides of the bearing portion andsuch extended portions have their edges at both sides formed withnotches 2li.

In assembling the plate `and carrier, the leading end edge of the baseof the carrier is slipped under the two sets of ears Il and l5 and thecarrier is then moved laterally of the plate with the web portion movingbetween the ends of the opposite sets of ears with the tubular bearing'portion outside the face of the plate when. the notches on the end edgeopposite the leading end edge will have been moved into alignment withopenings in the plate for receiving screws 25 to prevent displacement ofthe carrier relative to the plate and which also assist in securing theplate onto the panel section.

t will be noted that the position or arrangement of the notches is suchthat the carrier can be used with the plate on either the left hand ycorner or the right hand corner.

The tubular bearing portion 2i receives an axle or pintle 2t whichmounts the roller 2li, whichI roller is adapted to move in a track 2l,extending from the top to the bottom of the door frame.

If desired to more securely mount the carrier on the bracket, anotherarm 28 may be provided at the edge of the Iplate adjacent the roller 265to abut and overlie the end of the base portion 22: of the carrier.

The door is slid upwardly and downwardly along the tracks and suchmovement is counterbalanced by a chain, cable or the like 2l, associatedwith a spring or springs as usual at each side of the door, and myinvention contemplates novel and improved means for anchoring said chainor cable to the side edge of the lower panel section. For this purpose,I provide a screw Sil having a shank portion formed with threads 3l forcutting through wood and with a portion formed with screw threads 32 forcoacting with threads on a metal surface and with a head 33. The screwextends through a screw threaded opening 3@ in the iiange l2 and intothe wooden panel section. The lower end of the cable is provided with aneye member 35 through which the screw extends, the head of the screwbeing sufficiently large to prevent passage through the eye member. Awasher t may bel interposed between the eye member and the nange l2. Byreason of this construction, the

cable is securely fastened andk may be readily' the prior art and theappended claim.

I claim: A corner piece for doors comprising a substantially flat plateto abut one face of a door slipping it over said door corner and forcingit longitudinally and transversely of the door so that said lugs will bedriven into said edges of the door.

HENRY B. CLARK. 5

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record ln the le ofthis patent: 10

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 220,489 Morris Oct. 14, 1879444,274 Cole et al Jan. 6, 1891 Number

